Gaming machines are known to offer a player an opportunity to win an award in a primary game. The award provided to the player can be enhanced by a secondary game triggered in the primary game. The secondary game or bonus game often gives the players an opportunity to win additional awards or dramatically increase an award. Known gaming devices having bonus games employ a triggering event that occurs during play of the primary or base game of the gaming device. The triggering event temporarily stalls or halts the base game play and enables a player to enter a second, different game, which is the bonus game. The player plays the bonus game and likely receives an award before returning to the base game. The potential for a player to win additional awards or dramatically increase an award adds additional enjoyment and excitement to the game. In many gaming devices, however, the bonus game associated with the gaming device is limited to one game. Most bonus games are limited to a single game provided to the player that produces its own award or enhances the award provided to the player in the base game.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/085,520 filed on Feb. 28, 2002, published Aug. 28, 2003, discloses a gaming device having one central game and at least one and a plurality of peripheral games. The central game includes at least one or a plurality of central game outcomes. At least one of the central game outcomes is a transfer outcome or transfer. After the player picks the transfer outcome, one of the peripheral games begins. The peripheral game enables the player to go to another peripheral game or return to the central game and pick at least one more central game outcomes.
There is a continuing need to provide a player with the enjoyment and excitement of a new and different bonus game which provides the player an opportunity to play a plurality of inter-linked bonus games without having to return to one or more of the same bonus games.